Messages
by redvinesandvagendas
Summary: Post 4x03 - Killian's a little overenthusiastic about leaving Emma voicemails. Sometimes it annoys her, but they can be really sweet. (Fluffy One Shot bc I can't help myself)


**A/N: Disclaimer - I don't own anything ABC/CS/OUAT-related. But it's cool, cuz I'm loving everything they're doing on the show these days anyway :)**

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><p>She has seven missed calls.<p>

_Seven._

Not to mention two voicemails.

Jesus Christ, what was she _thinking_ getting him a cell phone? (She knows what she was thinking. She couldn't say no when he asked her so politely and she definitely couldn't have told him he wasn't getting a phone because she knew it would enable him to annoy her to no end) Of course, she likes hearing from him. And it's adorable how excited he is that he can talk to her whenever he likes, regardless of where they are. (His utter glee when she answers his calls is very poorly masked) Really, it's cute. But it's getting to the point where it's interfering with her everyday life.

And her phone battery life has definitely seen better days, but that's besides the point.

She rolls her eyes and taps on her voicemail.

"_Swan_," his voice pleads over the line. "_Pick up your bloody telephone. I can't recall where it is you told me to meet you and—_" Emma hears some crashing on the other line. "_Emma_!" he shouts. She pulls her ear back from the phone and winces. "_Never mind, love. I've just found you. Swan, why—_" the line cuts off as he hangs up. She deletes the message, smirking at the memory; she got an earful of his lecturing when he found her and Elsa outside of Gold's shop.

"_Why should I carry around this ridiculous thing if you're never there when I use it?! We found the person who froze Marian. Get to the west edge of the woods right away,_" his second message demands. She smiles and decides not to delete that one just yet. He's kind of cute when he's angry. Not that she'd ever tell him that. It would just make him angrier.

On second thought…

The moment she closes her voicemail another notification pops up on her screen. She groans, because _seriously_? She really needs to tell him to go easy on the voicemails. If it were anyone other than him, she probably would've chewed him out already (but it_is_ him, and he's still new in town, trying to find his place here, and he gave up his_home_ for her, and he doesn't understand modern technology at all, so a text message really is too much to ask of him right now). She rolls her eyes and taps the notification, pulling up her voicemail a second time.

"_Hi, Emma_," his voice says softly (very different from the annoyed tone of the previous two messages). "_I just was calling to say, once again, I'm sorry for deliberately going against your wishes today. But I just want you to know how I see it. You said you can't lose me, too. And I understand that. Better than I'd like to, actually. I held my brother and my first love as they died in my arms. And just the other day, I thought I was about to lose you. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. And I wish I didn't. Moreover, I wish _you_ didn't_." Emma swipes at a tear that's threatening to fall from the corner of her left eye. "_But, unfortunately, we both know loss. And, just to let you know, the thought of losing you is utterly terrifying. So today, I ignored your wishes. And I'm sorry that upset you. But if I went back, I'd do exactly the same thing a second time. There's not a chance in hell I am going to let you go and face the dangers this world seems to constantly throw at you on your own. Like it or not, Swan, I'm going to be there next to you, fighting off ice monsters and snow queens and whatever else there may be. For as long as you'll have me. Because I can't stand the thought of losing you. Good night, Emma_," he finishes and hangs up the phone.

She doesn't even bother calling him back. She's sleeping in her room at Granny's tonight (the loft was getting a bit crowded, so her and Elsa relocated to the room Henry and her occupied after returning from New York), so she quietly exits the room, careful not to disturb her friend who's asleep on the sofa bed across the room.

She knocks on his door and listens as he climbs out of his bed and hobbles towards the door. She smiles as he pulls it open and sees his cell phone still clutched tightly in his hand.

"Emma," he says with a soft, adoring smile that fades as he studies her face and evidently sees the tears that are threatening to spill over the corners of her eyes. "What's wrong, love?"

She throws her arms around him, her nose pressed against his collarbone. He backs them up a bit and closes the door, giving them some privacy. "Shh," he murmurs, smoothing her hair with his hand. "It's alright, love." He doesn't ask any questions about why she's here, silently sobbing into his thin cotton shirt. Emma realizes he knows precisely what her breakdown is about. And she supposes that's part of what his message was getting at; they both have known loss. They've known it to the extent no one should have to experience. So she's here, crying into his warm, solid chest because she lost Neal and Graham and even Walsh and he lost Milah and Liam and she almost lost him today and he almost lost her last week.

"I'm right here," he softly says, his hand tracing a soothing pattern down her back. He truly knows exactly what to do to comfort her. Sometimes she kind of hates that he can read her so well. Other times it's a relief; she's not so great at verbalizing her emotions, so it's nice that she doesn't always have to explain herself. At least, not to him.

Right now, she doesn't hate that she's an open book.

He gently pulls her over to his bed and sits down on the edge. Emma curls into him as he pulls her on to his lap. She tries not to think about how this is the second time in a week they've been in bed together without so much as an innuendo on his part.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart," he mumbles into her hair as her breathing slows down to a somewhat normal pace.

She smiles and nods into his neck but doesn't pull back. "Thank you," she whispers, not trusting her voice to produce much volume. The corners of her lips turn up farther when she feels his lips press a soft kiss to the crown of her head. She softly pushes him back towards the pillows and curves into his side, instantly appreciating the way her body just fits so perfectly against his (she refuses to admit to herself that she's missed this since the night she was almost froze to death).

"Emma, are you sure?" he asks tentatively, her heart swelling. He's just so patient, so careful around her. She appreciates it most of the time, but sometimes she wishes Killian would just follow her lead.

She finally pulls her face away from his neck to look at him and he brushes the tear-plastered hair out of her face. "Yeah, I'm sure. Now stop talking. I wanna get some sleep." She smiles at the grin breaking out across his face and lays against the pillows, ignoring how the mattress springs creak in protest.

"As you wish. Good night, Emma."

"'Night," she murmurs, already half-asleep.

-/-

She wakes up early and decides to finish off the night in her room so Elsa doesn't wake up in a panic because she's alone. Emma carefully pulls Killian's arm off of her, presses a kiss to his cheek, and climbs out of bed. She scrawls a note quickly letting him know the circumstances of her early departure and tiptoes towards the door. She glances at him with a smile before shutting the door to his room once again. He may be a bit annoying when it comes to leaving her countless messages, but she doesn't know what she would do without her pirate.

And she hopes she'll never have to find out.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews and favorites are ALWAYS appreciated 3**


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